Rebecca Morrell and Alison Francis BBC News Science
May 9, 2024
Image caption: All astronaut trainees must spin in giant centrifuges
Former Paralympian John McFaul is working with the European Space Agency on groundbreaking research into whether people with physical disabilities could live and work in space, and BBC News is following his progress as he trains to be an astronaut.
It’s a test that every aspiring astronaut must undergo, but it’s not for the faint of heart or those who are claustrophobic.
The door slammed shut, trapping John McFall in the darkness of a metal box the size of a coffin.
He’s in a giant centrifuge, spinning around and around to replicate the extreme gravity of a rocket launching and then the even more extreme gravity of it coming down again.
“The faster you rotate, the higher the G-loads are,” John explains.
“And today we accelerate to about 6G – six times the force of gravity – which replicates the conditions experienced during re-entry into the atmosphere in a Soyuz spacecraft.”
Image caption: This machine recreates the extreme G-forces that astronauts feel from launch to re-entry.
The test was part of John’s training program with the European Space Agency.
In 2022, he will be selected as the first astronaut with a physical disability to work on groundbreaking research into whether it might be possible to go into space safely.
John is an amputee, having lost his lower right leg in a motorcycle accident when he was 19 years old.
He normally wears a high-tech prosthetic leg, but removed it to test the effect of the centrifuge on his thigh.
He is being monitored by ESA flight surgeon May-Britt Kuipers.
“This is the first time we’ve had an amputee in a centrifuge,” she explains.
“Astronauts are basically lying on their backs, which affects the blood flow to the legs. We were interested to see how it would affect the astronauts, and it worked out very well.”
Image credit: BBC/Tony Jolliffe
Image caption: John is wearing special blades for running.
John put his career as an orthopedic surgeon on hold to jump into the unknown world of astronaut training.
He moved from the UK to the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany.
While spaceflight is not guaranteed, the study will determine what would need to be modified to make it possible, whether that be the spacecraft, the spacesuit, or various prosthetics.
Today I am reviewing the Running Blade.
Image credit: Getty Images
Image caption: John McFaul won bronze at the 2008 China Paralympics
Sport is a big part of John’s life – he is a former Paralympic medal-winning sprinter – and staying healthy in space is essential to maintaining muscle mass and bone density.
John uses a special anti-gravity treadmill that replicates the weightless conditions of the International Space Station (ISS): a mass of air lifts him slightly, making him artificially lighter.
He explains how he uses his body weight to press the blade into the ground, compressing it and causing it to spring back up again, creating a natural elasticity that propels it forward.
But the treadmill reduces your body weight to about 80% and the blades don’t work as well.
“I realized the blade was too hard,” he explains, “because I was now lighter and was putting less pressure on the blade, so it was less likely to bend and less likely to bounce back.”
He thought he needed a blade that bent more, but that’s not all.
Image credit: ESA/Novespace
Image caption: The parabolic flight gave John the opportunity to see what his prosthetic would look like.
In fact, John thinks he might need a few prosthetic legs on the ISS.
“There will be prosthetic limbs for running, backup microprocessor prosthetic limbs, and probably mechanical prosthetic limbs that will need to be worn inside the spacesuit for launch and return,” he explains.
“You’ll need a bit of prosthetic hardware.”
ESA is the first space agency to carry out such a project.
Until now, John’s disability has prevented him from becoming an astronaut, but Frank de Wijne, director of the European Astronaut Centre, wants to change that.
“We have so many talented people, including people with disabilities like John, so I think this is a fantastic opportunity,” he says.
Image courtesy of the McFall family
Image caption: John’s family moved to Germany for research.
“Why don’t we use this talent for great missions like astronaut missions?”
Moving to Germany is a big change for his wife, Sonia, a former Olympic gymnast, and their three young children, Finn, Isla and Immy.
Over dinner, they talk about his father’s new job, which his friends think is “cool,” and Finn can’t believe his dad left his job as a doctor for one that might send him into the “big black void” of space.
Sonia says John’s new career is 100% right for him.
“In our family, it’s important to take any opportunity you can,” she said. “To me, this was an opportunity and he took it. I hope his reward is ultimately to go into space and show people that it’s possible.”
We follow ESA astronaut John McFaul as he experiences space on a parabolic flight and spins in a giant centrifuge as he explores whether it is possible for people with disabilities to go into space.
Back at the centrifuge, it slows to a stop and the door clangs open. John gives a thumbs up.
“It was fantastic,” he says with a smile.
“And would you know? I didn’t even notice my right foot the whole time. It was probably the easiest part of the whole thing. That was really good to know for this flight study.”
John is about halfway through the project and has not found anything so far that would impede his mission.
And every time he experiences space, John knows he made the right choice, because space has the potential to change people’s perceptions.
“I hope it broadens their horizons and knowledge of what people with physical disabilities can do,” he says.
“But I also want people to see me as just John, because I’m just John, and I want to be an astronaut, and I happen to have a disability. That’s the message we’re trying to get across.”